Inlet valve for suction cleaner dirt bags



May 19, 1942. l J. w. WEAVER INVENTOR James W Weaver 5. M

ATTORNEY INLET VALVE FOR SUCTION CLEANER DIRT BAGS Filed Feb. 9, 1940 ?atente cover r poration of Application February suction cleaner, the dirt or filter bag is suspended beneath the handle with one end detachably connected with the exhaust outlet from the cleaner body and the other end normally closed but capable of being opened so that, upon removing the bag from the cleaner and opening its outer end, the contents can be readily shaken therefrom when held in an upright position with its inlet end uppermost. It is desirable, however, to provide some means for closing ofi the otherwise open upper end of the bag in order to prevent the dust from escaping and creating an unpleasant condition.

Where the bag is of a simple construction with merely an attaching ring at its inlet end, it is possible to gather or fold the bag material in such a way as to effectively seal the inlet end during the emptying operation. But with the increasing utilization of muilier elements at the exhaust outlet from the cleaner, it is quite impos-- sibleto seal the inlet end of the dirt bag in th customary manner particularly if the mufller is built into or forms a part of the bag attaching ring or fitting, because the muiiier is usually a tubular member projecting some distance into .the bag and while somewhat flexible is too stifi to permit the end of the bag to be sealed, except perhaps with the use of some extraneous means, such as an object with a flat surface held over the mouth of the bag or some soft material stufled into the entrance.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a practical type of valve which remains closed while the cleaner is not in operation, but capable of opening under" pressure of the incoming dirt-laden air. Such a dirt valve would preferably be constructed of a light durable material and designed to form an effective seal without creating any appreciable back pressure to reduce the efllciency of the suction system. Moreover, such a valve would ordinarily r yawn son s'oo'rron CLEANER pin-r sacs James Weaver, M Ohio, assignor to The North Cton, 011110, a cor- 9, 1940, Serial No. 318,055

(@3- sol-122) disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a general view in side elevation of a suction cleaner of standard design with a portion of the dirt bag removed to show the application of a valve to a mumer;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the dirt valve carried at the end of a tubular muftler and showing its conformation in closed position;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the valve and mufier similar to Figure 2 but showing the valve in open position under the pressure of the incoming air; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the closure spring extending throughout one-half of the open end of the valve as it appeared when removed from the valve and assuming its normal bowed conformation. The ordinary motor-driven suction cleaner is such a familiar household appliance that its construction and mode of operation need only 1 the briefest discussion. The body of the cleanbe associated with a mufller incorporated in the er consists of a main casing i supported upon pairs of front and rear wheels 2, 2 and houses at its central portion a suction fan 3 driven by an electric motor housed beneath the dome-like cover d, the fan rotating within a chamber communicating with the nozzle 5 extending across the front of the casing I and provided with the usual downwardly opening suction mouth in close proximity to the carpet surface. The dirtladen air carried into the fan chamber from the nozzle is discharged rearwardly through a passage which opens into the inlet end of the dirt bag 6 constructed of a'suitable porous fabric or other fibrous material.

The more common method of mounting the dirt bag 6 is to provide an attaching ring I a its lower end, the same being suitably clamped flush against a flanged seat 8 forming the outlet connection from the fan chamber, and susincludes as an integral part thereof a tubular extension I of the exhaust passage from the fan chamber, the same extending centrally into the bag for a short distance with a slight upward bend or tilt and terminating in an enlarged circular socket-like seat II for the lower end of a mufller 82. The muiller may be of any suitable type or construction but for the purpose of the present disclosure it may be considered to be a length of sponge rubber tubing of from 6 to 8 inches in length and having an internal diameter slightly larger than the exhaust passage of which it forms an extension. Being of sponge rubher, the mufller i2 is flexible throughout its length, but in order to limit its flexibility to some extent, its outer surface is bound by a coil of wire I211.

From the foregoing description of the bag and mufiler, it is clear that it forms a single unit in the sense that upon the removal of the bag, the ring 7 with its mufller supporting extension ii! is also removed. Likewise, it will be noted that it is quite impossible to eifectively seal off the inlet end of the bag during emptying operation since the mufller prevents the sealing of the inlet end of the bag by any manual manipulation. It is therefore thefunction of the dirt valve l3 to close off the inlet opening or passage to the dirt bag by mounting the same at the outer end ofthe mufller l2.

The valve consists essentially of a tube or sleeve of some suitable sheet material or fabric, sufficiently stiff in character to maintain an extended position or provided with suitable reinforcing members to accomplish this end. Moreover, the material of which the sleeve is made is quite impervious to dirt, although it need not necessarily be entirely impervious to the passage of air therethrough providing sufilcient air pressure is exerted to open the valve mouth while the cleaner is in operation.

structurally, the valve may vary in its details, although preferably it is constructed of two sections or halves Ida, l3a of the particular material selected, these sections being stitched together along their side edges M, l4 and the seams preferably bound by tape. At the base of the sleeve I3 is a band or ring [5 designed to he slipped over the end of the muffler l2 and suitably fastened.

From its base, the sleeve is preferably cut with a slight outward flare so that its diameter at the outer end is somewhat greater than at its base.

The sleeve l3is open entirely across its outer end, as shown in Figure 3, but normally the outer edges of the two sections of the sleeve are pressed and held firmly together by means of a spring element l6 enclosed within a wide hem l1 formed along the outer edge of one of the sleeve sections l3a. In short, only one-half the circumference of the valve mouth is reinforced by the spring element it, the corresponding marginal portion of the other section being without reiniorcement except perhap for a hem or other marginal binding.

As clearly shown in Figure the spring element It consists of a length of spring wire bent into a serpentine form for the purpose of giving it considerable greater width and more flexibility than would be the case if a straight piece of spring wire or a flat strip were used. Loops i612 are formed at the opposite ends of the spring l6 and after the spring has been inserted endaaeasss wise into the wide hem ll along the outer edge of one of the half sleeve sections l3a, these loops a are preferably anchored in the longitudinal seams M, I 6. Moreover, in the act of inserting the spring it it is compressed slightly in a lengthwise direction so that it is in a continual state of tension and as a consequence assumes a natural bowed position in overlying and sealing engagement with the opposite non-reinforced marginal portion of the valve mouth, as clearly shown in Figure 2, when the cleaner is not in operation or when the bag with its mufller assembly is removed from the cleaner. However, while the cleaner is in operation, the dirt-laden air forced through the muffler readily overcomes the tension of the mouth sealing spring l6, thus causing the tensioned and untensioned halves of the valve mouth to spread apart as shown in Figure 3 and to assume an elliptical shape with the spring now bowed outwardly in the opposite direction.

Needless to say, the tension of the spring is gauged to maintain the valve in closed position during the process of emptying the dirt bag of its contents and thus prevent dust from being expelled through the inlet opening and toward the person performing the emptying operation. Beyond this, it is obvious that any considerable amount of pressure required to open the valve would merely place an additional load on the fan without serving any good purpose. Hence, the advantage of the valve construction herein disclosed is its lightness and simplicity of construction plus the maintenance of an effective seal during bag emptying operation with a minimum of resistance to its opening during cleaner operation.

Havingv thus set forth a preferred construction for a dirt valve embodying the invention, but without limiting its structure or mode of application to the precise disclosure herein,

I claim:

A valve for a suction cleaner dirt bag comprising a sleeve of flexible material adapted to be positioned in the mouth of a bag and having an open end adapted to communicate with the exhaust of a cleaner, the opposite end of said flexible sleeve having an outlet for discharging dirt-laden air, a spring in one-half only of the periphery of said outlet, said spring exerting a force at all times tending to move the one-half periphery to which it is attached into a convex contour facing the apposlng one-half periphery of said outlet to effect the closing of said outlet by drawing said one-half periphery portions together, characterized in that said spring force is of a magnitude such that the force-of a stream of air passing therethrough can overcome the tendency to assume said convex contour to effect the opening of said outlet.

JAMES W. WEAVER. 

